The US Supreme Court has declined to hear Alan Dershowitz’s appeal in his defamation lawsuit against CNN, leaving intact long-standing legal protections for news organisations reporting on public figures.
According to NBC News, Dershowitz had asked the court to reconsider the landmark 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan ruling, which requires public figures to prove “actual malice” in defamation cases.
The court rejected the appeal, although conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch disagreed with the decision.
In a dissent, Thomas argued: “The ‘actual malice’ standard for public figures ‘bears ‘no relation to the text, history, or structure of the Constitution,’”
The lawsuit stemmed from CNN’s coverage of comments Dershowitz made while representing President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
Dershowitz alleged the network misrepresented his remarks regarding the grounds for impeaching a president.
Following the ruling, Dershowitz told NBC News by email that the key issue was “whether we are able to prove malice by clear and convincing evidence — a nearly impossible burden. I believe that the Court will eventually change that standard.”
Lower courts had previously ruled that the “actual malice” standard had not been met, even if parts of CNN’s commentary omitted context.
